7 Online Copywriting Tips to Improve Your Website

It’s the difference between visitors learning more about you or losing interest in your brand. To grab your target audience’s attention, upgrade your copywriting skills to engage with visitors.

“You can’t transform a crappy painting into a masterpiece with a few brush strokes. Likewise, you can’t transform crappy copy into a persuasive message with a few minor tweaks. You need good copy at the heart of your message,” says Nick Kolenda, author of Methods of Persuasion.

1. Write Targeted Copy

Your website is an opportunity to establish your brand in the market. When people arrive to your site, they want to know what you do and what you stand for.

Use your site copy to reflect a clear vision of your business. Rather than offering unnecessary details, select a primary goal that your copy will accomplish.

“It’s important to give every piece of copy you write a single objective…Focusing on one objective at a time minimizes confusion and prevents you from including extraneous text,” writes Sujan Patel, co-founder of Web Profits.

Targeted copy will pinpoint the solution you offer visitors. You’re not just a food blogger or a website designer. People want to know how you can help them with their problems.

In the image below, The Art of Sculpting tells you exactly how they serve their potential customers—taking their fitness to a new level.

2. Make the Visitor the Hero

Let’s set the record straight: your copy isn’t about you, your business’s achievements, or even your latest TV appearance.

If your desire is to transform visitors into leads (or customers), your copy must focus on your audience and their needs. All the copy should center around helping the visitor.

It starts with telling a great story and creating a journey that involves the visitor. Much like the movies, the copy will discuss the challenges and the triumphs of the hero.

Copy isn’t always about getting someone to take action. It’s also about etching a unique memory into their minds. That emotion will stay with them after they leave your site.

3. Express Your Value

Visitors are interested in knowing how you can change their lives. What value will you provide to customers to improve their outcomes? This value will separate you from the competition.

In-home care startup Honor establishes value quickly on its homepage. Their team offers services to help seniors live better, while offering families peace of mind.

Be descriptive in your language and avoid the over-the-top tone. It’s perfectly fine to boast about the benefits of your product. However, you don’t want to over-exaggerate.

“People don’t want to be sold to. Tone down the hype and write your web copy like you’re talking with your ideal customer face-to-face. Your audience can tell the difference, and will be more likely to participate,” says Christina Walker, a professional freelance web copywriter.

To show your value, highlight the results of your services. Get people engaged in doing things differently with your business.

“Do you have a great customer quote that you can include in your e-mail? A brief and convincing quote can add credibility to your campaign. The more real you can make the person to your readers, the better.”

Check out this example from Backlinko. Brian Dean backs up his expertise with quotes from industry influencers.

6. Avoid Jargon

Have you ever sat in a meeting where you didn’t understand anything? Everyone was talking in your native language, but every word seemed foreign.

You probably felt confused or as if you didn’t belong. It’s an overwhelming feeling that just makes you want to stand up and exit the room.

That’s a similar feeling your visitors experience when landing on a site stuffed with jargon. They don’t understand the content, so in a split second, they decide that this brand isn’t for them.

To keep your target audience interested, you must speak their language. Instead of using unfamiliar terms, stick to words your audience knows.

Pay attention to the words your current customers use to describe your business. Use social media to learn how your audience talks about your brand. With this insight, you can create copy that invites them into your website experience.

7. Experiment With Different Versions

Your first draft of copy isn’t your last. Just like other aspects of business, the best way to learn if something works is to test it.

So try not to fall in love with your copy. Remember that every word on the page is to help visitors understand you better. It’s important to keep that principle in mind when A/B testing your copy.

Experts suggest changing only one variable in your experiments. You might test the headline, then the call to action. If you test everything at once, you’ll lose sight of what your visitors actually like about your copy.

Below is an example of an A/B test on the call-to-action-button text. The new variation focused on what the company’s offer provided the visitor.

Be willing to experiment with your copy. It’s the best way to learn what connects with your visitors.

Conveying Your Brand Message

When visitors land on your site, your goal is to gain their interest and establish trust quickly. Copywriting is a critical component to telling your story to your audience.

Write compelling copy that makes every visitor the hero, and use social proof to add to your credibility. Improve your website with better copywriting.

Shayla Price creates and promotes content. She lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology, and social responsibility. Originally from Louisiana, Shayla champions access to remote work opportunities. Connect with her on Twitter at @shaylaprice.